USE OF ANTIFUNGAL AGENTS IN THE VETERINAR Y PRACTICE - COMPILATORY COMMUNICATION

Incidence and intensity of animal fungal infection has raised during t he past few years due to the use of more antibiotics and changes in th e environment. The increasing number of antifungal agents raises a que stion about which agent is appropriate for which infection. This paper is intend to help the clinicians to use the available antifungal ther apies (both topical and systemic) and summarizes the mode of action of antifungal agents. The history of antifungal agents started before th e 1950s, numerous products had been used with limited success. Thereaf ter, more effective drugs were developed, including polyene antibiotic s (nystatin, amphotericin B), griseofulvin and tolnaftate. In the 1960 s, synthetic imidazole derivates were introduced (i.e. clotrimazole, m iconazole, ketoconazole). Recent classes of antifungal agents (allylam ines and triazoles) have also been discussed.